~~~

I watched the glow of the forge with practiced ease. Almost… Almost… There! I pulled the lump of metal out of the fiery furnace with my levitation, the heated metal just the shade of yellow to be soft and malleable, but not a glob of ooze that would run out of my grasp like water.

Several years had passed since the remnants of Queensford settled in Ùllahdmaiden. The name of which meant “Apple wood” in an ancient Earth Pony tongue. When asked what services I had to offer, initially I had volunteered to be part of the militia. As it turns out however, everypony was expected to join in the defense of their home during an attack. So I had fallen back onto my fascination of Earth Pony architecture and smeltery practices and joined the black smithery as an apprentice. While I could not shape raw and unsmelted iron straight out of the ground as if it were clay like the other two apprentices, my levitation let me do away with the tongs they relied on with hot metal, as well as inscribe my work with detail that even the Master Smith had trouble replicating.

It was much easier to get the small broken tip of a chisel into tight spaces when you didn’t have to rely on a large wooden handle to maneuver the bit around.

Despite feeling handicapped more often than not, I was content in the knowledge that I could still keep up with the other two apprentices. We were comparable, but we were not the same, just different.

I placed the hot metal onto the anvil and lifted a hammer, tapping it gently to knock off the impurities. I folded the metal a few times, but only to bring more impurities to the surface. My goal was not a weapon or a piece of armor, but a piece of jewelry.

I stuck the lump back into the furnace and waited for it to heat back up.

I repeated the step of knocking off the impurities in the silver several more times. When I was satisfied, I reheated the silver once more. When I pulled it out of the furnace I rolled it in my levitation, smoothing it into a shape like an oval river stone. When it was sufficiently cool enough, I set it back onto the anvil, and began to tap it again with the hammer, smoothing out what edges I had missed with my magic.

The lump was still hot enough to shape, so I pulled out a precision stamp and began to tap a design into the oval. I reheated the metal a few more times in order to achieve the design I wanted, but when The grooves in the metal looked satisfactory to me I plunged the metal into the waiting vat of oil.

HSSSSS.

The metal hissed as it kissed the surface of the liquid. I held it under for a few moments to let the heat properly dissipate. When the oil stopped bubbling I pulled the lump out for examination. It looked satisfactory to me, so I walked over to the bucket of metal polish and coated it liberally with the substance. Humming a wordless tune I made up on the spot as I did so.

When that was done, I went over to the sharpening wheel. The wheel was a sort of mechanism that turned a solid stone wheel that you could sharpen a blade on. I had almost instantly fallen in love with it when I first saw it. Such ingenuity, such thought and design had gone into its construction that any lingering doubts over the truthfulness of the now long dead Hoarfrost’s opinion of Unicorn superiority were permanently dashed. In a way, the correlation between Unicorns and Earth Ponies were much like the differences between the other apprentices and I.

We were comparable, but we were not the same, just different.

I pulled the heavy granite wheel off the turning mechanism with my levitation, replacing it with a similar, albeit metal, wheel that was covered in stiff bristles. I sat down on the stool and began to pump the floorboard underneath with a hind hoof, causing the mechanism to spin the new wheel along its center.

Polishing the piece took nearly an hour, even for such a tiny piece. It was just that covered in etchings and designs that it was difficult to get into every nook and cranny. Occasionally, I’d feel the presence of the Master Blacksmith or one of the other Apprentices at my shoulder, curious about what I was working on. I let them indulge their curiosity without acknowledgement. If they had something to say they knew all they had to do was to speak and I would address them.

I finally let the polishing wheel fall to a rest as I pulled the metal away from the bristles. The silver now shone like a mirror, with etchings inlaid in the metal that depicted a stylized crescent moon. The outer edge of the curved moon ran alongside the metal’s oval curve, decorated with twists and curves that mimicked the features of the real thing. On the Moon’s inside curve, I had chiseled and stamped multitudes of stars. I had debated adding a nebula or a galaxy, but I decided not to, because it would detract from the design of the moon.

I pulled out the thread of leather I had chosen from the pocket of my work apron, specifically chosen and sized for the neck of my gift’s recipient. I pushed the thread through the hole I had punched in the metal and tied the ends in a knot.

There. Done.

“A moon?” Master Brickwork asked behind me, watching me finish my work. “Ye know why it’s bad luck ta invoke the moon Luna.”

“I do.” I replied. “But it’s not for luck.” I turned and offered the newly made amulet to the Master Blacksmith so he may properly examine it. The stallion waved it away.

“I was watching ye work on it. And ye do good work Luna.”

“Thank you sir.”

“May I ask though, why did ye make it?” His mustache seemed to barely twitch. I hesitated, I had not discussed why with him, or anypony else. Maybe I was afraid of their rejection, or maybe I didn’t want to hurt them.

“I- I’ve been thinking about leaving the village lately sir.” I decided to get it over with. He, perhaps most of all behind Tia, had a right to know. “I love it here in Ùllahdmaiden, I really do… But I’ve been feeling cooped up here for some time now.”

“Hm.” Brickwork grunted non-committedly. Taking that as permission to continue, I continued my explanation.

“I want to see the world, forge my own path. This amulet is a gift for my sister. I’ve always had a… Strange relationship with the Moon, and Tia knows that. I was going to give it to her as a reminder of me. I don’t know if I’ll return or find my way out in the world, but I know I’m not going to find it unless I go looking for it.” I finished.

“Hm.” Brickwork grunted again. He then patted me on the shoulder. “Yer a fine mare Luna. I’ll hate to lose ya. But I also know wanderlust is a hard thing ta ignore. Earth knows I wouldn’t be here otherwise.” he smiled under his mustache. “Jus’ know if ye can’t find yer way, yer always welcome back here.”

“Thank you sir.” I smiled gratefully for his understanding.

“Any idea when yer leaving?” he asked.

“I was thinking after the snow melts.” I responded. The sixth anniversary of the Queensford Unicorns joining Ùllahdmaiden had passed a week ago, and as was the trend during my fillyhood, the Winter was becoming longer and longer. Now it was common for the snow to fall in early August, and last until late June. Leaving barely a month for the Earth Ponies to grow and harvest their crop. Barely a month for easy traveling.

That was another reason I wanted to leave.

Ùllahdmaiden was almost three times the size of Queensford. It was getting harder and harder to feed so many mouths. If I left, that was a few more meals for everypony else. I could forage for food along the road, but the crop was a very limited resource. The only reason there wasn’t a mass exodus was that the Earth Ponies couldn’t grow as much with fewer ponies. If everypony left then it would spell doom for all of them.

That left the eight remaining Unicorns from Queensford. Brisk Road had left years ago, unable to cope with living where his family had died. Violet had remarried and wouldn’t leave her new husband. Ocean Breeze and Star Song were pregnant with their second foal and thus couldn’t travel. Torchwood was now too old to travel. Firelight made a good living during the Winter months making sure that the hearths in all the homes were lit.

And Tia wouldn’t leave the ponies she had promised to protect, even though she technically wasn’t a Reeve anymore. That left only one of the original Queensford Unicorns that could or would leave.

Me.

As much as I loved the village, my only true tie keeping me here was Tia. And if by leaving meant that Tia would get fed? Then that was perfectly fine by me.

I bid farewell to Master Brickwork and hung up my manticore leather apron on its hook. It was cold outside, made evident by the snow covered ground, but the weather was certainly warming up. Already one could see icicles forming under perpetually dripping eves. If the weather held, I only had a week remaining in Ùllahdmaiden. Two weeks at most.

Earth ponies bustled to and fro, not yet busy with farm work, but in preparation to plant what seeds they could as fast as they could. Everything was organized to ruthless efficiency, the past few years had been hard, and this year was looking to be even harder. Nothing could be wasted. A few ponies sent smiles my way, in which I returned, but no pony called out in greeting.

Ullahdmaiden hadn’t changed much in the time I had lived here. A few new buildings had been raised, mostly to accommodate the Queensford Unicorns now living permanently in the village. One or two had been torn down for some purpose or other. But yes, I could still recognize the village I had entered as just a filly of nine years old. Sure, the strong apple wood timber was slightly more worn now, the walls had a few more dents, and soot stains reached just a tiny bit farther. Time was marching ever forward.

And I found myself falling lockstep into its rhythm.

I pushed open the door to the house I shared with my sister. Tia had also come into her own in Ùllahdmaiden. Now hunched over a heavy oak desk, she scribbled across sheets of parchment. She was one of the main driving forces behind the preparations outside. Offering her skills of organizing ponies to better make use of the as of yet unplanted fields.

“Hello? Tia?” I called out to the white unicorn, whose back was towards the front door.

“Hey Lu. Give me a moment to finish this sheet.” she replied.

“Take your time.” I replied, closing the front door behind me and wiping my wet hooves on the rag we kept near the door specifically so we didn’t muddy up our wooden floors. Our home was very unlike our Queensford hut. First of all, it wasn’t a single room building. I even had my own room I could do whatever I wanted with! But anything outside that, if it wasn’t Tia’s room, we both agreed we needed to agree on any changes made.

Tia’s quill scribbled once last time as she finished her paperwork.

“How was the blacksmithery?” she sighed contently, turning around on her stool.

“Good, same as usual.” I approached and sat on my haunches. “But there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Oh? What’s wrong Lu?”

“Well…” I sighed, trying to draw out the moment so I could think how I was going to bring up my decision. “Lately I’ve been thinking…” I nervously tapped my hooves together. “I love it here in Ùllahdmaiden, but lately I’ve-”

Tia surprised me with a lunging hug.

“Oof!” I grunted as she squeeze the breath out of my chest.

“You’re a young mare and you’ve been wondering what else lies out in the world.” Tia stated.

“H-how did you know?!” I exclaimed. Tia’s melodic giggle graced my ears.

“I’ll tell you a secret Lu, everypony feels that way at least once.” she giggled.

“But you-” I began.

“I was having the same feeling about the time we left Queensford Lu. I was trying to gather the courage to bring it up to Mom.” Tia interrupted.

“O-oh. I never knew that.”

“I know Lu. I didn’t want to hurt you until my decision was made.”

“I’m sorry Tia.” I sighed into her fur.

“For what?”

“For holding you back when you could’ve been out there in the world.”

“Oh Lu.” Tia squeezed me tighter. “You’ve never held me back. Besides, I got my wish and I even got to bring my family too… For a short while.” Sadness crept into Tia’s voice. I didn’t know how to address that, so I broke the hug and moved on.

“I made this for you today. To remember me by.” I held out the amulet, letting its silver gleam in Tia's candle light.

“Luna!” Tia gasped. “You made this?!” she took it from my hoof to examine it closer.

“Y-Yeah… All by myself.”

“I love it Lu.” she clutched it to her chest.

“T-Thank you.” I smiled, feeling tears beginning to form in my eyes. I reached over and began hugging her again. We embraced for several minutes before Tia broke the hug again.

“So… When are you thinking of leaving?” she asked.

“When the snow melts. I wanted your and Master Brickwork’s blessing before I started gathering supplies.”

“Did you get his blessing?”

“Of course, he watched me make your gift.”

“Then you have no time to waste. Do you have the money to get supplies?” Tia asked.

“I’ve got plenty of money Tia. I’ve- I’ve been taking commissions on the side to buy what I need.” I replied.

“Come then, it’s not too late in the evening, I’ll come help you.” Tia smiled.

“I’d like that.”

Author's Note

Y'know, I can probably start posting this again, now that the trolls aren't going to invade my server.
'Cord!
https://discord.gg/RVvqpuGaRa